Chapter 10

Heat.

Mist.

Lights.

As our bodies pleasured each other, our consciousness disappeared from our bodies. As the catalyst of the ritual, Takae was completely subsumed in memories. Her memories.

As the handler and the guiding hand, I was not completely gone. All I see right now is that I am in the middle of a purple cloud. Closing my eyes to synchronize with Takae, when I open them the first thing I see is a blurry plain middle-aged man.

He is a middle-aged man with short, middle-parted brown hair with an undercut. He has brown eyes and wears a pair of rectangular, red glasses. He is wearing work attire which consists of a white suit and a blue tie. Such a simple and boring man.

Words appear near him, a description. This is how Takae will tell me everything. Her memories are tagged and labeled. Such a wonderful girl.

Father. So it is. Her father was a plain, hard-working man. Little Takae is sitting in front of him, he looks at her with disapproval and shakes his head. His mouth is moving, but no sound comes from him, all I can hear is Takae's crying wails.

She's probably five or six years old in this memory. A small girl, with a band-aid on her cheek, her ash-colored hair is in a small ponytail. The epitome of a tomboy.

As her father pounds the table in anger, he stands from the table so fast that he sends his chair flying back. The sound of the breaking chair is deafening in comparison to the muted world. Takae is no longer loudly crying, just crying in silence as she looks down in shame.

Monster. Is what replaces the word father after that. The scene fades to black, as another takes its place. Takae is at the side of a bed, a woman, with no features, lays in the bed. Her pregnancy is quite obvious, probably in the last stage. The word mother is strikethrough; random letters trying to replace it. But it seems impossible. I sigh. A mother is always a mother; even if she's a monster.

The next scene is Takae, with a bag, watching his sleepy brother for the first and last time. This time, a name. Taki Tachibana. Boldly written, each word with its own aura. Love and sadness; that's the feeling. Even if she has only seen her brother once, Takae still loves her brother.

The next scene is Monster bringing Takae to an orphanage in Kawakami city. She was being abandoned, even though they were having another child. Why? Hm. "Takae, remember. Why? What happened? Why were you abandoned?" I whisper lacing my words with mana so her soul could hear me.

A new scene appears, this time, there's sound. Takae is older, around 10, her fists are covered with bandages and she has scratches on her arms. Takae is sitting on the riverbank, letting the water wash over her feet. The sound and the view while not vibrant much better noticeable.

"Ah, there you are Tachibana." The gruff voice, followed by a puff of smoke comes from a man. Wearing the robes of the Kawakami Temple, his muscles visible even with his robes, he has his head shaved and a white homburg white hat that would clash with his style if not for the smoking cigar on his mouth. A name floats above him: Tadashi Nabeshima, teacher.

I can feel the respect and the filial fondness Takae has for him, it's not love, but it's the acceptance of a role model.

"Nabeshiman..." She whimpers. "Why?" The longer she speaks, the more her eyes fill with tears. Hm. She was always a crybaby. I think as I snort.

-sigh- "It's not your fault. Those things happen, you know." He says gruffly as he sits beside her. "Besides, he deserved it. Listen, girl, you can't allow accidents to ruin your life. Yes, you're more prone to accidents than most, but you have talent and will! This is why you're becoming a martial artist, to control your body until perfection! To do so, you need to keep going, keep striving, never falter!" His passionate speech ends with him coughing because his cigar fell inside his mouth.

"Hahahaha!" Takae falls to the side as she points towards the coughing Nabeshima. The current best student of Tesshin Kawakami.

-sigh- "Stop laughing at me brat. Listen, next month I am leaving. I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. He's strong, and he's gonna be stationed at Kawakami city for six years, he promised he will take care of you in my absence. I am sorry kid." As he brings one massive hand to Takae's head he shakes her around, probably believing that's how you pat heads.

Takae sits still and sighs as she looks to the horizon. "It's okay," she mutters. She's feeling sad but also feels that it is for the best. She already expected him to leave. It seems that many caretakers have left her over the years. And given that Tadashi was the longest she cared for him more.

The next scene is blurry, Takae is beside Tadashi Nabeshima walking hand in hand, everything is black and white, dispair fills the scene. That's what Takae felt that time. As she places Takae in front of an older man. She doesn't look up, so she doesn't remember how he looked back then. Purple pants and black suit shoes. Rich, probably. The scene gets blurred as her tears fall to the ground. A rough hand shakes the world, as Nabeshima pats her head. As he sighs and kneels in front of her, to look into her eyes.

He lifts her head gently and removes the tears. "Listen, kid, you're a good girl. Keep working hard, never surrender. Don't let the words of others drag you down. Eat healthily and keep exercising, you have a talent I have never seen so it would be a waste to abandon it. Hyume has my phone, so if you need anything don't hesitate to call me, okay?" As he waits for an answer, all Takae could do was a nod if she didn't want to cry anymore.

As the world dissolves, I whisper again. "No, not forwards Takae, backward. We need to see who or what cursed you. Go back, earlier." I plead, lacing mana to my vocal cords and the sound itself.

As if mocking me, the next scene is in full-HD, a Takae of 14 years old greets me as she's looking at herself in the mirror.

"Uh. I don't get it, am I not cute enough? I thought I was beautiful. I am fit and clean! That should be enough for any boy... That's what Nabeman said... Did he lie to me?" she mutters as she looks at herself in the mirror. Turning around and looking at the shape of her butt.

So absorbed she was in herself, that she doesn't someone was beside her, nodding as she too observed Takae's body. "Humu. Indeed Takae, you're plenty cute. No need to question it." Said a familiar voice.

"Really? But everyone always looks at me with disgust in class..." She mutters tearfully. "Eh?" She suddenly stopped, her face growing red instantly as she looks at her side.

She has a large scar on her forehead in the shape of an X and has shoulder-length silver hair, Kuki Ageha, as I already know seems to be drinking kelp tea, as she looked at Takae's body. With a grin. "Ahahahaha! Kuki Ageha has arrived!" beside her head, her label floats. Kuki Ageha, Friend?, same age, strong, shameless.

"Ah! You!!" Takae screams startled as she suddenly flashes to her bath, a second later she exits wearing her clothes. "Don't do that! My heart almost leaped out of my mouth."

"Hahahaha, ah my friend! Do not worry. So what's troubling you? I heard what you said before, you're beautiful! I am sure you will find a wonderful partner sooner or later!" Ageha says with cheer as she jumps like a star.

"Look, just, stop. Ugh. Too much cheer in the morning." Takae said palming her face. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Tokyo" she asks in wonder as she hugs Ageha.

-sigh-"I lost! So I came back to Kawakami! I am pretty sure you and Momoyo missed me, so I came back." Ageha easily admits.

"Lost? and you came back? What? Lost in what?"

"Well, I lost in the same thing you're trying to know about yourself. I lost in a battle of love! Apparently, I am not good enough for Ren. Only that snake of Shinra Kuonji is. Never mind, I shouldn't speak badly about her like this. It's not her fault. I am just angry about it." She mutters in sadness.

"MY LADY, YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH FOR ANYBODY!!! I CAN PROVE IT!!!!" A deafening shout, as a boy with dark blond spiky hair, and pale skin. Wearing a red bandana on his forehead. He also wears the typical Kuki butler uniform. A tag near his head. Koujuro punching bag.

"Shut up moron! Use your inside voice! Learn from this!" Ageha shouts as she punts Koujuro from the building with a single punch, launching him to the sky.

"..."

As the scene fades, this time as I try to communicate once again with Takae, a new scene appears even as I try to watch her past first. Hm. If Takae can't hear me next time I'll have to resort to harsher methods. Gotta refresh her memory. -sigh-

This time, Takae is seventeen years old. I know because she's signing the clause to join the JSFD. The security forces of Japan. They do not have an army but have a 'homeland security.

This time, the scenes flash quite fast. Takae learns how to handle weapons, how to kill with a knife even if she doesn't need it. Her superiors were impressed by her speed, forcing more tasks on her. At first, she had friends, companions who she sweated with, bleed with. But slowly, accidents keep happening to those around her. "I have a little bit of bad luck," she said to those around her whenever she met new people. At first, they laughed. Later they keep her at arm's length.

Slowly, the scenes turn sad. The coloration of the visions turns from brightly colored to a broken sepia. She stopped talking to people, they sent her to the harshest missions. In an accident, she almost lost her arm and legs, but she didn't. She was too fast to be broken by a simple explosion.

And then loss. No reason to continue doing this. Years in the military and she still has no reason to live. So she left. There was nothing for her there. And she came back to Kawakami, with her spirit broken. Solitude had slowly corroded her soul since she was small. With each inch more corroded the little curse became a parasite. A curse with sapience, feeding on her. Destroying her life.

"Takae!" I roar. Clapping my hands I bring out a Japa Mala. A string of prayer beads. This one was directly blessed by all 28 Buddhas. "Answer me! Taṇhaṅkara, Medhaṅkara, Saraṇkara, Dīpankara, Koṇdañña, Maṅgala, Sumana, Revata, Sobhita, Anomadassi, Padüma, Nārada, Padumuttara, Sumedha, Sujāta, Piyadassi, Atthadassi, Dhammadassī, Siddhattha, Tissa, Phussa, Vipassī, Sikhī, Vessabhū, Kakusandha, Koṇāgamana, Kassapa, Gautama. Buddhas!" I roll every single bead, as I chant the name of the Buddhas.

A gentle light illuminates my path, halting the dream world. Walking towards the light, I arrive at a dusty old door. It's made of rotten wood, and it's broken. I try to push it, but it does not budge. "Takae. Please. Remember this door. Open this door. Remember this door. Please, listen to me." I beg, slowly turning the beads, giving the spirituality needed to my voice to reach Takae.

As the door opens, darkness consumes me. And I find myself in another vision, it's different than the rest though. It's completely white except for the shape of a few things that have shadows. There are no sounds, and almost everything is blurry. In the middle of the room, there's a table.

Above the table is a birdcage. Takae is probably two or three years old. And the bird of the cage, which I still cannot see it's calling her. The bird used magic, to call her.

Crawling towards the birdcage Takae's hand pushes the lock, opening it. A black sparrow emerges from the birdcage, with blood-red eyes, chirping 'chi, chi, chi'. I can hear the chirps. And a voice behind it, but I can't understand it, after all, Takae couldn't understand it when it happened, and these are her memories.

Before leaving, the crow pecks at Takae, making her bleed. As the scene turns red, the father comes to the room in a dash, and by mistake kills the sparrow. No, not a sparrow. A Yosuzume. I know what to do now.

"Thank you," I whisper towards the beads as they disappear and return to my soul.

Closing my eyes, I will the ritual to end, I do not want to keep intruding on Takae's soul.

Opening my eyes, I find myself hugging Takae slender body in the middle of a dirty red pool. Ugh, now it's disgusting.

"Oh... Hey... That was... I..." Takae tries to speak but she can't even open her eyes. Good, I hope she doesn't see or feel this blood.

"Don't worry. You're tired, you used your soul quite a lot today. And you're not used to it. It's like a muscle, the more you use it, the better and easier it is. You're tired now. Sleep, I'll take care of you." I whisper as I hug her closer and rub her head.

"Mn... Ight..." Aaaaand she fell asleep. Nice. Bringing her out of the water and on top of the towel, I turn towards the blood pool. With a small vial, I save a little bit of the water and then make a spell to evaporate the rest of the water. Looking to the side where a room with a queen-sized bed awaits, and a personal bath awaits, I decide to clean Takae and myself in the tub before putting her inside the bed.

/-/

It's a new day. I am refreshed and beside me, there's a sleeping beauty. Faking her sleep, of course. She woke up two hours ago but she's feeling embarrassed and many other things. Hehe, probably remembers everything from yesterday.

Kissing her on the forehead, I leave the bed and go towards the bathroom. "I know you're awake. What's on your mind?" I ask as I take out my brush.

"Ah!" Silly girl. "Uh... Well, I did not want to annoy you and make you leave." she acknowledges.

"Hm. You won't. You bonded to me yesterday. You told me when we were eating pizzas that you would never leave me. I take that seriously. And I will make you see, and feel that the world has a lot more than just sadness and loss." Washing my hands before changing my clothes. "But for now, let's shelve that conversation. First comes your curse. It was a Yosuzume who cursed you, the situation was... Strange. A Yosuzume in a cage? Outside the mountains? Hard to believe. But the most probable thing is that your family is continuously condemned. Something in your blood entices youkai. It's not all bad, though."

"Eh? Condemned? Youkai? Yosuzume!?" She quickly stands up, completely naked of course, I did not put a pajama on her. Hehe. It's beside the bed though.

She quickly claps her hands twice "Do birds that cry chi, chi, chi yearn for a shinagi rod, and if they do, then let them be struck with a single 'pan'!" She stays still for a few seconds before looking around. And then at me with a hopeful expression.

"Nope." I deadpan.

"Aaah!! Birds that cry chi, chi, chi, please blow quickly, divine wind of Ise!" She claps again. And this time bows. Seven seconds later she straights and looks at me. Turning a little bit red as she notices I am focusing on her assets.

"Yeah, nope. Those work only when encountering the Yosuzume in the mountain trails. Hm. by the way, get dressed and clean yourself, we have a long day ahead." I tell her as I pass by her, caressing her face.

With a smile I go towards the minibar, there was food there. Pancakes and chocolate. "Yay! This for me,... And this for Takae." A flash and a figure appear at my side. Takae is shy today, she wants to grab my hand but she's scared of doing so. Cute!

Grabbing her hand without hesitation I bring her and the food towards the table.

"Ise... Ise... Winds of Ise... Hm. You would do better if you call the winds of Fujin instead." I grin and point at her with my fork.

"Eh? Fujin? Why? The Winds of Ise are the winds of Amaterasu no? Wasn't she above Fujin?" She tilts her head in confusion while she eats. Ahh! Cute! And is mine!

"Hmm... Amaterasu is the goddess of the sun. Not the wind, and while it's true that the chant goes with the winds of Ise, that only works in her prefecture."-nom-"not that she's weak. It's just that Yosuzumes ALWAYS inhabit the forest nearby her shrines. I don't know if you lived near there before, probably. But you were not in a forest, that much I can tell. Besides, you are blessed by Fujin. So if you're gonna worship any Shinto god, worship him and respect the others. Or just worship them all, or respect them all. Fujin is jealous, so chose them all or chose him.

"Eh? What? Blessed?" Her eyes round as plates look at me.

"Yeah, your legs. That speed is not natural. Oh, you can train to be that strong, you have the talent. But it would take you more than a decade of only speed train to reach that level. Right now, with the speed of Fujin if you train you could be as fast as a flash." I grin at her.

"But... Blessed? Does he know of my curse?" She asks in a small voice as she keeps eating like a hamster. Uh. Should have kept my mouth shut.

"Yeah. Well, I think so. At the very least, the blessings I know use part of the soul of the gods themselves. Souls are immortal but they can be damaged and destroyed. Any damage in the soul is usually impossible to heal, except divine beings. To bless, take a little bit of their soul, and puts it in yours. They will know the state of the blessed, how are they feeling, what affects them... And anything that touches their soul. Like a curse." As I finish eating I let the silence hang in the room a little bit longer. With a sigh, I sit beside Takae and hug her.

"Yeah, he had to know. But gods can't interfere you know, at least he blessed you, that's something. Yeah, it doesn't make up for your life, but it wasn't his fault either." Or perhaps it was and he sent the Yosuzume to her. But I keep that to myself. "Besides, whatever happened in the past, it's set in stone, but you can still change the road to however you wish, you know?" I smile as I hug her. Kissing her on her teary eyes I release her as I walk away. "Let's go Takae, we gotta destroy that silly curse!"

"Yeah!"